Kaitlin Armstrong moved around while in Costa Rica, used several aliases, officials say
AUSTIN, Texas - Those responsible for Kaitlin Armstrong’s capture gathered at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Austin on Thursday.
The group included representatives from the U.S. Marshals Service, Austin Police Department, Homeland Security and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
Kaitlin Armstrong is accused of murdering pro-cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson while Wilson was in Austin to compete in an upcoming race.
"The Armstrong case highlights the effectiveness of local, state, federal and international authorities working together to apprehend a violent fugitive," said Christopher Rhoades, Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal and member of the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force.
On July 5, 2022, Kaitlin Marie Armstrong was booked into Travis County Jail for Murder, 1st Degree Felony, and Theft of Service. (Travis County Jail)
Locally, the investigation began with collaboration within the Austin Police Department.
"Within hours of the murder of Anna Moriah Wilson on May 11, 2022, our APD Tactical Intelligence Unit, as they do with every homicide here in Austin, began working closing with APD’s Homicide Unit," said APD Assistant Chief Jerry Bauzon.
Eventually, the Lone Star Fugitive Task Force, which includes members of the U.S. Marshal Service and APD, got involved.
In the media briefing Thursday, new details were shared that shed more light on the 43 days leading up to Armstrong’s arrest.
According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Armstrong did not go directly to Santa Teresa. She moved around towns once she arrived in Costa Rica and also used multiple aliases.
Those aliases helped pave a path for law enforcement as they made their way to different hostels and yoga studios.
"It was when someone there at one of those studios said, ‘Yes I remember her, she signed into this book,’" said Brandon Filla, Deputy U.S. Marshal. "She listed herself as one of these three aliases - Liz Martin, Beth Martin and Ari Martin."
The former yoga instructor was eventually tracked to Don Jon’s Surf and Yoga Lodge.
Filla confirmed that two passports, including one belonging to Armstrong’s sister, were found in her locker at the hostel. A receipt for plastic surgery was also found in the locker.
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Law enforcement still has not confirmed whose passport Armstrong used to flee the country.
According to Filla, once detained by Costa Rican law enforcement, Armstrong maintained that she was "Ari Martin" on the six-hour drive back to San Jose.
"That’s when she eventually confesses her identity that she was Kaitlin Armstrong," said Filla.
Armstrong was deported to the U.S. and extradited from Houston to Austin over the weekend. She was booked into the Travis County Jail on a $3.5 million bond.
If she makes bail, she will have to wear a GPS tracker, surrender her passport and submit to a curfew.
A court hearing is scheduled for July 20.